Mind Your Mind
My face in the mirror
Isn’t wrinkled or drawn.
My house isn’t dirty
The cobwebs are gone.
My garden looks lovely
And so does my lawn.
I think I might never
Put my glasses back on.
-Author Unknown
In my study of the brain, I discovered that concentrating your thought ten times on a piece of chocolate cake had the same effect on the chemicals in the brain as if you ate the cake. My conclusion was simple: “Don’t think about it, just eat it!”
On the serious side, changing how we think can change our lives. Here are some thoughts to engage your mind. We see things not as they are but as we see them!
Your thoughts shape your life
Thoughts are the seedbed from which everything in our life grows. Our feelings, attitudes, disposition, choices, and actions all flow from our thoughts. If a person is not happy with the results in their life, they have the power to change everything by changing their thoughts.
Identify your thoughts
What are your recurring thoughts? “I am so clumsy!” “How could I be so stupid?” “I’ll never amount to anything!” “Nobody real likes me or wants to be around me!” “People think I’m a loser!” And the list goes on. Negative thoughts limit our creativity and shape our decision making.
Get your eyes off the rear-view mirror
It is hard to move forward when you are consistently pressing rewind. What is done is done and the consequences of those choices are unalterable. Wrong decisions of the past can be valuable teachers in the present. Stop thinking “what if?” and ask, “What can I do now?”
Worry is a detour into a mud bog
Worry is a wasteful use of our emotions. Worry gives us a false sense of care and concern. All worry dethrones God and makes you king. All worry makes you king and God incompetent.
Put your hands on the steering wheel
You cannot control what people do to you, say about you, or think about you. But you do have total control over your words, attitudes, and actions.
Choose your friends wisely
There are many places where you cannot control those who are part of your immediate environment. But you can ask yourself “What can I bring that will help change the tone of the atmosphere?” “How can my response to the negativity help refocus the thinking of others?” At the same time, you look for a circle of friends who share your core values. Friends where iron can sharpen iron.
Learn to ask questions
First, you ask questions of yourself. What are the results that I’m looking for in my life? Where do I want to be 5 years from now? What skills do I need to acquire to bring a greater degree of excellence to my work? What character qualities are needed to carry the weight of the success I desire?
Second, ask questions of others. Don’t be afraid to invite others to have a critical analysis of your skills, behaviour, and attitudes. Remember, we see things not as they are but as we see them.
Learn to enjoy the ride
I have been on flights where the turbulence has been severe. On one we hit a wind shear and dropped one thousand feet. People screamed and there were items in the cabin that got shifted. I must admit that I kind of like those rough rides. But I also acknowledge that there are many very painful life experiences that leave deep emotional scars. Losing my beloved is not a ride that I like but it is one that I must embrace and grow in. I enjoy the ride when it takes me back through pleasant memories and hours of heart-to-heart conversation. We can enjoy the turbulence of life when we learn to extract the precious from the worthless.
Change your thoughts and you will change your life. Change your life and you will change your world and before you know it, we will meet at the top.
Duane Harder
